Thousands of runners gear up for Hartford marathon

HARTFORD -- On the eve of the Hartford Marathon, thousands of runners came to pick up race packets and bibs from the XL Center.

"I put in the training all summer, so I've been looking forward to this for a while," said Caitlin Cunningham of Simsbury. "I hope the weather holds out."

"We're doing a half marathon," said Jordan Barthol of New Hampshire. "There's a group of us that have stayed together from high school and decided to give it a shot. We've been training all summer long."

The event features four races: a marathon, half marathon, 5k and team relay. Hundreds of kids will also participate in a race for children.